The Other Hostage Crisis

The Iraqi abduction of overseas Filipino worker Angelo dela Cruz’s broke the news on July 8. At 11 p.m. of the same day, local officials went to Barangay Buenavista in Mexico, Pampanga unnoticed and fetched Arsenia dela Cruz, Angelo’s wife. Thus began what looked like an attempt by government authorities to gag the Filipino hostage’s family.  

BY EMILY VITAL
Bulatlat.com

The Iraqi abduction of overseas Filipino worker Angelo dela Cruz’s broke the news on July 8. At 11 p.m. of the same day, local officials went to Barangay Buenavista in Mexico, Pampanga unnoticed and fetched Arsenia dela Cruz, Angelo’s wife. Thus began what looked like an attempt by government authorities to gag the Filipino hostage’s family.  

The following day, journalists who, by then, had tracked the family’s residence began interviewing Angelo’s children. At 1 p.m., the children were also whisked away by the same local officials.  

Thus, while Angelo was being held hostage by Iraqi rebels, his family was also being held by the government, away from the media spotlight. It was widely believed that they were under pressure not to air any misgivings about how the government was handling – or mishandling - the hostage crisis. 

Dela Cruz, a Filipino worker in Iraq, has been held hostage by the Islamic Army of Iraq since July 8. The resistance fighters threatened to behead dela Cruz if the Philippine government refuses to pull out its troops by July 20, a month ahead of government’s schedule.  

Since the reported abduction, Malacañang had not issued any statement regarding the fate of dela Cruz. Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Albert tried avoiding the media when the first deadline set by the insurgents lapsed.  

But at around midnight of July 10, Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas reported that dela Cruz had been released. It turned out to be false. Without verifying the labor secretary’s report, most of international and local media publicized it for all the world to consume.  

Silenced  

Reporters who milled at the de la Cruz home in Buenavista also learned later that the family was taken by local officials of the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA) to Manila via Clark in Angeles City. But they were in Clark all along, as later confirmed by Vidal Querol, chief of the Philippine National Police-Region III.  

When he got bored at Clark, Julysses convinced the Malacañang people that he be allowed to go home. He made the mistake of talking to the media and so he found himself being fetched again and back in Clark. He could not hide his anger at the government’s refusal to heed the Iraqis’ demand for the troop pullout.  

Meanwhile, on July 11, at around 4:30 a.m., Jesus dela Cruz, Angelo’s youngest brother, was also fetched by a convoy of three vehicles from Mexico. Jesus acted as the family’s spokesperson for the media since the immediate family members had all been taken from the village. He too, along with Beth de la Cruz-Reyes, sister of Angelo, was told to keep his mouth shut.  

Querol refused to comment on the matter when the media complained about not being able to reach any member of the dela Cruz family  

In a live news feed on Tuesday night, Maki Pulido, GMA-7 reporter said dela Cruz’s children were nowhere to be found in Clark.  

Reporters of government television networks IBC-13 and RPN-9 were also pulled out from covering Buenavista by July 13 at around 4 p.m.  

“Stupid”  

Meanwhile the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) criticized the Arroyo administration’s a news blackout on the hostage crisis.  

Carlos Conde, NUJP National secretary general, described government’s gag policy as “stupid.” 

“It’s a feeble attempt at news management that will eventually backfire. It is impossible [to implement a news blackout] in a crisis such as this which is global,” Conde said. “It goes against the nature of journalists. If you tell journalists not to do something, they will do it.”  

The NUJP secretary general said the policy creates more confusion. He said journalists are forced to look for other sources of information because the government refuses to release substantial information. “It violates the right of the people to know,” he said. 

On Tuesday around 4 p.m., Malacañang ordered the pull out of government-owned stations covering the events in Mexico.  

The NUJP leader said that while in the Philippines the Arroyo administration refuses to speak on the matter, government officials in the Middle East do not withhold information.  

In a separate statement, Gabriela chair Emmie de Jesus said it’s a torture for dela Cruz’ family to be groping in the dark. (Bulatlat)

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